Four students from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy were among the 240 student pharmacists advocating for pharmacist provider status in Washington, D.C.
UNC Pharm.D. students Karin Abernathy, Jennifer Sato, Jennifer Schweiger and Sarah Steinert attended the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists Summer Leadership Institute, held from July 13–15 in Washington, D.C.
The APhA-ASP leadership institute participants had the opportunity to speak with over 140 members of Congress in support of the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act, which would allow pharmacists to provide services to Medicare patients in underserved areas and be reimbursed under Medicare Part B.
Abernathy, Sato, Schweiger and Steinert spoke about the bill, the opioid crisis and drug pricing with Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC), for western North Carolina’s 10th congressional district.
Sato said Tillis became a co-sponsor of the bill after speaking with pharmacy students about its importance.
“It was extremely empowering to advocate for our profession and the impact that a pharmacist can have, particularly in areas that lack adequate access to care,” Schweiger said.
APhA-ASP has been hosting the Summer Leadership Institute for over 20 years. Attendees at the annual conferences also attend leadership and education workshops and network with leaders from APhA and other students.
“It is easy to think that grass-roots efforts may not have a big impact, but I realized through my visits on the Hill that advocacy – no matter how big or small – can make a change,” Sato said.
“Visiting Capitol Hill and speaking with North Carolina representatives about the roles pharmacists and student pharmacists can play on a health care team was an amazing experience,” said Abernathy, the president of the UNC chapter of APhA-ASP.
“It was insanely rewarding to advocate for our profession and emphasize the impact we can have on the patients we touch,” she said. “Coming back to our APhA-ASP chapter here at the School, we are all so excited to share our experiences in Washington and highlight the importance of advocacy, not only to our senators and congressmen, but also to our patients.”
UNC’s chapter of APhA-ASP is consistently recognized as one of the top chapters in the country, Abernathy said. At the School, the APhA-ASP chapter is part of the Carolina Association of Pharmacy Students. The chapter is involved in eight patient-care projects: Gender Health, Operation Self-Care, Operation Diabetes, Operation Heart, Operation Immunization, Generation Rx, Project AGE and smoking cessation and lung health.